


Sailor V: Guardian of Earth

by EloquentOrNot



Series: Sailor V in the MCU [1]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga), Code Name: Sailor V, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (Artemis doesn't talk he's just Mina's pet cat), Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:55:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26356822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EloquentOrNot/pseuds/EloquentOrNot
Summary: What if Mina Aino was part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? No other characters from Sailor Moon, just Sailor V, with a slightly different origin.In the distant past, the planet Venus was home to a great civilisation, ruled by a magical monarchy. To escape a terrible tragedy, the last princess of Venus was sent to live on Earth, in the future. Now, her power awakens, and with it comes the chance to be a hero...
Series: Sailor V in the MCU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915246
Kudos: 3





	1. The Past

**Author's Note:**

> A few months ago, I had an idea for an Avengers fanfic. Then I thought, what if I use Sailor V for that? What if there was no team of other planetary princesses for her to join, and instead she started working with the Avengers? From there, the idea grew out into a whole alternate version of the MCU, including this introduction story. This is basically my idea of what Sailor V's solo MCU movie would look like, and the rest of the series will have more interaction with Marvel characters and settings.

Mina Aino was, as far as anyone could tell, a completely normal teenager. Certainly, she was considered by most of her peer group to be far above the average in terms of appearance, with her large, lavender-blue eyes, and her flowing, golden hair, so long that she was forced to tie some of it back, just to keep it out of her face. Even choosing the most garishly large, bright red ribbon she could find for that purpose didn't seem to diminish anyone's opinion of her beauty and sense of style. But she knew there were more important things in life than looks. She was good-natured and caring, and whenever someone called her lucky for her beauty, she would remember that she was even luckier to have her kind, loving parents. She made no secret of the fact that she was adopted, even though she preferred not to think too much about her mysterious origins. Her parents had found her abandoned in a forest near their home city, just weeks before they moved to the other side of the USA. But what they had not told anyone, not even Mina herself, was that she had appeared in a bright flash of light, like a falling star in the evening sky...

On the 3rd of August, 2007, a few minutes after midnight, Mina turned precisely sixteen years old. At that moment, as she slept, a golden light began to shine from her forehead, in the shape of a curved crescent moon, longer side facing downwards. Magical power, waiting dormant within her mind and body, at that moment surged. She remained asleep, and yet in a different way she awoke.

In her dream, Mina was standing in a beautiful garden of many colours, wearing a golden dress. Grass stretched out beneath her feet, golden but not at all dry, and the sky was a deep shade of lavender. Further away, tall flowers bunched together like a circular wall around the area, but with her near the centre of the open area was a tall woman. The woman's skin was pale grey, and her hair was a lighter yellow than Mina's, tied up but flowing from two buns on either side of her head. She wore a white gown, and her eyes were deep gold. On her forehead was a shining crescent, just like Mina's. At first, Mina did not recognise the woman. Then, memories flooded her mind, images and their explanations simply appearing, as if they had always been there and she had just never thought to ask.

* * *

Many millions of years ago, the planet Venus was home to abundant life. It was well known in the cosmos as a world of great beauty, with lavender skies and golden-green fields, glittering indigo seas and mountains of pure white crystal. Shining silver cities were built from this stone, by the planet's inhabitants, and the royal palaces sparkled like pure gold, even at night. The people of Venus themselves were just as beautiful as their surroundings, with large eyes and long hair of many colours, and shimmering silver-grey skin.

Of especially elegant appearance were the royalty of Venus, their skin shining like silver crystal, their eyes a bright gold and their hair a rich yellow. But they were not the rulers simply for their looks. They alone bore the responsibility of both ruling and protecting the planet, for they alone inherited the magical power of their ancestors, the power to transform into a legendary hero, Sailor V!

It was said that the original ancestor of the royal line, the first queen of the whole planet, started off as an explorer, a sailor named Venus. Her crew was said to have made the first full map of the world, and she became known in all the nations of that time. She was wise and kind, and brought a peaceful end to the many conflicts she came across in her travels. Learning as much about the world as she could, her life-long goal was to unify the planet in peace. She never wished to rule the world herself, but even before she gained magical powers, most of the people looked to her for leadership, and the unified nation of the planet was named in her honour. The event that resulted in her gaining magical powers was never recorded, but it was rumoured that she earned her powers by sacrificing herself to save the world from an incomprehensibly powerful alien attack. From that day, she was also known as the Guardian of Venus, a title which she was glad to pass on to her descendants. But, although she eventually accepted her role as the first ruler of the planet, she never called herself by the title of Queen. Instead, she named herself Sailor Venus, and commanded that her family, however powerful they became, would always remember their humble origins. And so, each successive monarch of the planet Venus would also carry a second identity: Sailor V, Guardian of Venus. Whenever a situation arose that could only be solved with great magical power, the ruler would transform into a uniform reminiscent of the ancient sailors, and gain access to all the magical powers of the original Sailor Venus. If the planet was attacked by aliens, Sailor V would be there to defeat the offenders. If the peace was threatened from within, the ruler would judge those responsible, and if the threat was of a scarcity in resources, Sailor V's magic would be used to replenish what had run dry, so poverty could never be found for long on the planet Venus.

But in time, the people of Venus grew proud and selfish, taking too lightly the great gift they had in their rulers. The young queen in those days was named Serene, and she was kind and sweet. Too easily she answered the call of those requesting magical aid, and where before the power of Sailor V had been reserved for the direst of emergencies, now Serene spent more time in her empowered form than not, leaping great distances with no more than a thought and granting whatever wishes her many friends would ask of her. This indulgent use of her powers inspired the younger ones who grew up knowing only her way of ruling. The more she gave, the more they demanded, cheering her on as she found ever more spectacular ways to explore her magical powers and defy the laws of nature.

One day, Queen Serene agreed to tear an uninhabited mountain from its roots, and leave it floating high above the ground, with complex pillars of magic both holding it up and providing easy access to and from the flying island. Tourists flocked to the marvellous scene, and for five years there was much celebration, with festivals taking place both on and within view of the magically suspended rock. Not once during those five years did the queen change back from her Sailor V form, even when sleeping. She never thought to tell anyone that she had to constantly hold the magic around the mountain in place. She thought it was obvious, and believed part of the celebrations to be a congratulation to her for being capable of such a feat. Then one day, just over the horizon from the mountain in the sky, a volcano long thought dead began to erupt, threatening several nearby cities. Sailor V rushed to the scene and used her magic to suppress and cool the lava and magma, and she was forced to use so much of her energy at once that the magic keeping the island in the sky snapped, and she heard the distant screams as it plummeted, and she cast shields into the ground to stop the shockwaves from its impact, but as a result she lost her grip on the lava, and the volcano began to explode once more, and when the seismic waves impacted her half-formed barriers, the result was a shockwave so intense that the ground split, cracks spreading out across the land and down towards the planet's core!

Sailor V stood still in midair for many hours, frozen in shock and horror. For miles around, there was nothing but fire and devastation, molten rock welling up from endless cracks and scars in the land. She knew in her heart that she had caused all of this. The volcano should have been dead. But she had uprooted a nearby mountain... Could that have caused a change, deep in the ground? She would never know. But she knew she was, at least partly, to blame for what had happened. And yet she could not comprehend it. Her mind was still too young to fully accept something so terrible. As the sun began to set, she too descended, landing softly on a cooled patch of black rock. The air was still stifling, burning and toxic, and she knew she was only alive because of her magic. A massive portion of the people of Venus had all died, that day. She could not bring them back, there were limits to her power. And yet, she felt the need to make up for what she had done. She could not complete the repair, but she would do what she could. So it was not with the intent to cover up her misdeeds, when she cast a bubble of light around her, expanding and changing everything it touched. The cracks in the ground were sealed up, fires extinguished, black smoke cleared from the red evening sky, grass forcibly regrown over blackened ground, until it was so thick and vibrant, the air so pure and calm, that the whole devastated region appeared, from a simple glance, to be a paradise of untouched natural beauty. But Serene would not cover up the lives lost that day. She returned to her home and explained what had happened, but her advisors refused to judge her, she could not take the blame for the disaster. She had done everything she could, they said. There was much mourning, lasting years for some, but life continued. Humbled by the tragedy, the queen and her subjects vowed to never again abuse her powers. But it was too late. She could not have known that her bubble of repair, although it spread out from her in all directions, had not reached nearly far enough downwards...

A decade passed, and the restored area was slowly repopulated. Villages were built in memory of the cities that had been lost, inhabited by those whose homes were destroyed while they were away travelling. Earthquakes had become more common across the whole world, and the queen had often had to fly great distances as Sailor V, to come to the aid of those in need. But the land had been quiet enough for many months now, and most people were no longer too concerned, it seemed the ground had settled once more. The queen took this as a sign to settle also, and soon her firstborn daughter arrived. Serene had not yet decided on a name for her child, when the news arrived. More quakes, but now worse than ever, everywhere. Cracks appearing, across the land. Lava gushing up, blazing across fields. Forests burning, seas evaporating, the heat only increasing as the sky thickened with dark orange clouds. Starting from where the mountain had fallen, Venus was burning. Serene had chosen to live as far from her past mistakes as possible, so her palace would be the last part of the planet to go. Even as she heard the reports, the queen looked out from her palace and saw an unnatural burning orange spread across the whole horizon, coming towards her from all directions. It could not have started more than a day before. She stared numbly, unable to think of anything other than the fact that her daughter had been born on the day their planet burned and died. Her people panicked around her, and the Queen of Venus turned to face them, with a facade of courage and hope, then wordlessly ran to her private tower. Those who had seen her were comforted, somewhat, as she would often use that tower to transform, flying out from its balcony towards whatever danger she faced. All their hope was in their queen. They knew Sailor V could stop the destruction, and save the planet. Because if she couldn't...

They were all doomed. Serene knew this, as she held her newborn daughter close, and cried silently in the privacy of her hidden balcony. The baby was asleep, the queen had used her magic to ensure it. She couldn't bear to hear her own child's cries as the world ended around them. At least one child would sleep peacefully, as Venus burned. Serene knew there was nothing she could do to stop the destruction. And she knew, as the ground began to tremble beneath her, that it was all her fault. She had been too powerful for her own good, and not powerful enough to deal with the fallout. And now her people were as good as extinct.

But then. That spark, of impossible hope. Queen Serene's unwillingness to ever give up, even in the face of certain doom. She opened her eyes, and looked down at her sleeping, nameless daughter, her pure silver-white face and tiny golden lock of hair. All the grief and despair in the world hit her like a tidal wave, for a second time, and she was knocked to her knees as the tremors intensified. But this time, it was different. Now, through the storms of grief and destruction, she felt empowered. It was the magic of Sailor V within her, that refused to die. The newborn would one day inherit that power, of course, but only if she survived. She had to survive. Queen Serene named her daughter Venus, the last Princess of Venus, and vowed that Venus would live on. Her magic surged, but she did not transform into Sailor V. She poured out her magical energy, encompassing her daughter's body and mind, protecting her, ensuring for her a great future and a wonderful life. The baby would remain asleep, untouched by time, outside normal space, wrapped in a protective bubble of magic, until the day it found for her the perfect family. It might be far away, or in the distant future, distances and times unimaginably vast. But one day, she would emerge like a star, and grow into whatever family would raise her. If her appearance or biology needed to change to fit in, it would. But when she came of age, Princess Venus would inherit the magical power of Sailor V, the ability to transform and use the magic of the first Venus. Serene knew her daughter would need a guide, as her parents had taught her how to use the magic, and trained her in the ways of Sailor V. So she transferred a copy of her own memories deep into the infant's mind, to greet her in dreams when the time came. Until then, she would have no recollection of her true origin. In only one child was the full legacy and future of both Venus itself and Sailor V, the legendary Guardian.

A great storm of yellow smoke and lava rushed across the surface of the planet Venus. The once beautiful world was burned away, leaving only a superheated barren rock, surrounded by toxic clouds. The last city stood, for just a few minutes more, as the fire raced towards it and the blazing darkness closed in. On a balcony, on the highest point in the city, stood a pale skinned woman in a white gown, her blonde hair flowing from the two buns on either side of her head. Light poured from the crescent on her forehead, and from her golden eyes, into an identical crescent on the head of the baby in her arms. The infant's silver skin began to shimmer, as if all the colours of the rainbow were reflected upon it, and she remained asleep as a white orb of light began to form around her, floating her gently out of her mother's arms and into the air. The golden-white orb now glimmered before Queen Serene, and the palace beneath her had almost started to fall into the waves of lava. With a final gleam of light from the queen's forehead, the orb containing the baby flashed brightly and shot upwards as it disappeared. Her magic exhausted, Queen Serene collapsed, as did the last of her beautiful planet. But not the last of her people.

Millions of years passed. But the magic of Sailor V never left the solar system.


	2. The Future

As the memories flooded her mind, Mina realised what had happened. She was Princess Venus, and Queen Serene's magic was what had left her alone in the forest, that night. Somehow, the fact that she was a time travelling alien was easy enough to accept. But the fact that she was, aside from a magical copy of her mother's memories living in her head, the last of her kind? That she had inherited a power which had both saved and destroyed those people? That was harder to grasp.

"Mother..." She whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Princess Venus... No, it's Mina, now, isn't it?" The queen's voice was one of a dream, and yet more real than anything else. "My wonderful, darling daughter. I've waited, watched over you for so long, and now you're here at long last..."

"What do you mean? Mother, why did I have to take this long to remember you? To remember everything?" Mina wiped away her tears and stepped closer to her mother.

"Mina... You have reached the age of sixteen, and your magic is awakening. You will soon be able to transform into Sailor V!"

"Sailor V, the Guardian of Venus? The V stands for Venus too, right? How can I take any part of that name if there's no Venus to protect anymore?"

Serene smiled gently. "You alone are the remaining legacy of Venus. You may take whatever name you like, when you transform and use your powers, but I believe it would be better for you to remember where that magic first arose..."

"You mean like you did?" Mina glared accusingly. "I remember the legends too, now. The first queen, Venus, she decided on the name Sailor V for that exact reason! But it didn't do you any good, did it? You still forgot! It was your pride that destroyed our world, and left me alone! I remember now... In school, when we learned about the planets of the solar system... When we got to Venus, I felt so sad when they said no-one could live there now. And now I know why!"

The former queen's smile failed. "I know. There is no excuse for the way I behaved in my youth. And I truly wish there had been some way to undo all of my mistakes. But there was not. All I could do was all I have done. I saved you, Mina, and so the power of Sailor V has outlasted the people of the planet Venus. Refuse to use it, or pretend that it came from the Moon instead, but I must train you in this magic now, as my own mother did for me."

The sky in the dream had darkened, and Mina almost forced herself awake. But she knew it would do her no good, in the end. She wasn't sure how, but she decided to forgive her mother. The destruction of the planet had been an accident, and if things had happened differently, Mina would most likely be a completely different person. So, even though this gave her life a totally new context, at the same time it really made no difference. She was still living with her adoptive parents, she still had her friends. And now, she had magical superpowers, too... The sky brightened, as Mina looked up with a small smile.

"I'm going to be a superhero?"

Serene smiled in reply, and the training began. Mina learned how to call on the magic within her to transform, and how to access Sailor V's magical storage pocket. It was a small orb of light, which could hold many useful items. The first thing she learned to draw from it was a powerful legendary sword (supposedly created by the original Sailor Venus), which she then learned to use effectively. She later learned how to control her magical energy, blasting a beam of light, forming a solid, metallic chain, and so on.

Mina Aino felt the warmth of the golden crescent on her forehead fade as she awoke on her birthday, and she knew then that all of the dream had been real. She spent the day with her parents, and the evening with her friends, and made no mention to anyone of her amazing newfound secret. She knew it would have to be a secret, of course. If she suddenly started using Venusian magic all over the place, there was a precisely zero percent chance that she would be left alone to continue her normal life, and she was not ready for that kind of attention, on herself or her family. If she was going to be a superhero, it would take a pretty big emergency for her to let anyone know who she really was. But then, as she finally drifted off to sleep after a busy day of celebration, she realised that the transformation her mother had shown her hadn't exactly done much to change her appearance, certainly not the face. The first thing she asked upon entering the dream was if there was any way she could change the uniform, to better conceal her identity.

Serene thought for a moment, and then smiled. "Actually, I think I can do better than that. I could modify the flow of your magic when you first transform, so that, whenever you transform, a fraction of your power will form a magical mask to go with your uniform, which will protect you from any means of recognition. Unless you transform in front of someone, no-one will recognise you or make the connection between your disappearance and Sailor V's appearance; not even advanced cameras will be able to match your face. Do you want to do this?"

"Yeah, sure! That sounds perfect!" Mina nodded, the problem solved.

By that weekend, Mina had already completed the basics of her training as Sailor V. It helped that time seemed to stretch out in dreams, but all the same, she was a fast learner when she wanted to be. She had decided to relax and spend some of her birthday money at a nearby shopping mall. Taking a break from shopping before she collapsed under the weight of her bags, she took a long look at the menu of an ice cream shop.

"I'll have two chocolate cones, please!" She said at last.

"Well, I suppose you'll be burning off most of the extra calories carrying all that trash..." Said a harsh, cool voice from behind her. "Still, aren't you just being greedy?"

"...And what is it to _you_?" Mina whirled around, shocked at this complete stranger's rudeness. She briefly forgot her anger, however, when she saw his bizarre appearance. He was wearing all black, his hair was dark blue with lime green accents, and she struggled not to laugh. "...And _what_ is up with your _hair_? No offence, but why would you choose hair dye like that!?"

The man scoffed. "I don't see how that's any of your business..."

Mina smiled sweetly. "Well then, I don't see how it's any of _your_ business what I buy!" And with that, she purchased her ice creams and walked away, sparing no more thought for the strange man who had insulted her.

He scowled after her, muttering under his breath: "This is the girl who's supposed to save everyone? I'd better test her to make sure..."

It was a relatively peaceful day in the shopping mall until the dragon attacked. It was roughly the size of a horse, dark green with glowing red eyes, and although it had no wings, it was breathing fire so it was definitely a dragon. In the ensuing chaos, Mina was quickly able to find a place to hide and transform.

She focused on her power, and a glowing golden crescent appeared on her forehead, her hair starting to shine with the same light. Her skin began to shimmer in a faded silver rainbow, and ribbon-like streams of yellow-gold stars began to rush from her crescent, swirling and spiralling around her. The ribbons of light wrapped around her torso and upper legs, turning in a flash of light into a short white dress with a blue skirt and collar, and two red bows, one at the back of the skirt and the other at the front of the collar with a golden orb at its centre. A star burst on her feet, and blue strapped high heels appeared. More ribbons encompassed her hands and lower arms, becoming elbow-length white gloves. The crescent on her forehead solidified to resemble pure gold as the sparkling on her skin and hair ceased, and she was still wearing the red bow in her hair. The rest of the starlight around her coalesced into a stylish red domino mask, which she placed carefully over her eyes. Her transformation complete, Mina was now Sailor V! (Of course, all of this actually took place in a fraction of a second.)

Her transformation complete, Sailor V stepped forward. This was her first time using her powers in the real world, so she was a little nervous, especially since the first thing she had to save people from was apparently a real dragon. But she knew this was exactly the sort of thing her abilities were meant for. Even if she had no idea how it was possible for a dragon to exist, let alone why it was attacking her local shopping mall!

"Hey! Stupid dragon!" She shouted, hoping she was at least a little fireproof. "What did this innocent mall ever do to you, huh?"

The dragon turned its head towards her, probably confused as to why one of the humans wasn't running away like the others. It snarled, and Sailor V could hear people nearby whispering to each other, wondering who she was and what she was doing. She decided to introduce herself.

"I am Sailor V! Guardian of Earth!" She could feel her confidence growing, pointing directly at the dragon. "I don't know where you're from or why you're here, but I won't let you attack these innocent people any more!"

The dragon roared, and the battle began. Sailor V leapt to dodge a plume of fire, and darted towards the dragon. She nearly got close enough to land a punch, but it tossed her away with its thick tail. She noticed she had landed near some trapped people, so when the next flamethrower came her way, she stood her ground, summoning a star-shaped shield of golden energy. After blocking the fire attack, she once again leapt forward, this time summoning her golden-white chain. She struck the dragon on the nose with the chain, and it flailed about in pain; she was able to throw the chain a second time, wrapping the creature's legs. She pulled it towards herself, and before it could react, she punched it away, hard. She surprised herself with her strength, as the dragon went crashing through the wall of a nearby store. She quickly ran into the shop, but it was unusually dark, and there was no sign of a rampaging, fire-breathing monster.

"Did I... knock it out?" She asked, not expecting an immediate answer.

"Not quite, Sailor V." She recognised the voice from earlier - it was the guy with the weird hair! "I wanted a display of your true power, and now I have... almost everything I need."

"Wait... do you mean... _you_ brought the dragon here? To target me? But... this is the first time I've done anything as Sailor V, how did you even know I existed?"

"All in good time, Miss Aino." He smirked at her shock. "Relax, I won't say it anywhere someone could hear it. After all, no-one's supposed to know about your identity for quite a while, yet. As for the 'dragon', that's just an android of my design. It's not sentient though, so you don't have to feel too bad about destroying it. In fact, I recommend you end it as soon as you can, I programmed it to keep attacking this place no matter what." He snapped his fingers, and the monster rose from where it lay, behind a fallen shelf just metres away. "Don't hold back, now, Sailor V. I'd hate to see your story cut off this early!" He laughed as the dragon lunged towards her, and on instinct she summoned a powerful beam of white light from her crescent, blasting the dragon robot and overwhelming it completely with pure energy. The monster disintegrated, revealing its artificial core, a bizarre, advanced mechanical system containing a large, glowing crystal, which looked almost as if... it had absorbed some of the power from Sailor V's attack! The device floated over to the mysterious man, who gave Sailor V a smug look. It was clear he now had everything he wanted.

Sailor V, on the other hand, wanted answers. "Alright, _you_. Who are you, what is going on, and how do you know me!?"

He gave a low chuckle. "Heh, they said you would be naive at the beginning, but I didn't think it would be that easy! I acted completely untrustworthy, yet still you did exactly what I told you to, with no hesitation!"

"Acted...?" Sailor V's confusion only increased, and with it her frustration. "Oh, you want me to blast _you_ to pieces too, huh? Is that it?"

All amusement vanished from his face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so harsh on you... after all, like you said, you're only just starting out now. It wasn't fair of me to judge you by a standard you have yet to set..." He gave her a knowing look, and, sure enough, in that moment the pieces of the puzzle came together in Sailor V's mind. His somewhat bizarre appearance and speech patterns, his impossible knowledge and advanced technology...

"Wait... are you saying you're from _the future!?"_

He nodded. "That's right. I'm actually from one of humanity's Martian colonies, and, since you did ask before, the reason my hair is coloured like the earth and sea is because I am a member of a group dedicated to the effort to terraform as many uninhabited worlds as we can, to provide for the ever-growing human population. Naturally, I can't really give you any more specifics than that. But there was something we needed, that... no longer exists, far in the future..."

"...My magic...?" She noticed that he was holding the device containing the sample of her power tightly, like a precious treasure.

"That's right. I can't tell you how, or when, but... well, you know you're not exactly immortal, don't you?"

"But... my power is meant to pass down through the generations... can I not have children?"

"It could be that you don't have children, it could be that any children you do have cannot inherit the power, or it could be something else entirely. I was not told the specifics, so that I could not tell you your own future. I am from a far, distant future, I have never met you nor anyone who knew you personally. The point is, in the future, we have developed enough scientific understanding to work out how your powers may have came about in the first place. You and your Venusian ancestors considered the powers magical, because that's all you've ever known them to be. However, it is our hypothesis that, when that power first came to Venus, it had been artificially created in some way that the people of my era could understand. Studying the archival data about you enabled many of our scientists to theorise ways to replicate that power, and bring back the Sailor V Guardians from extinction. However, whatever we tried, there always seemed to be a key ingredient missing. It is my belief that, with this sample taken directly from you, we will finally be successful. Thanks to you, and to me, Sailor V will return to aid humanity once more!" With a final triumphant flourish, he began to fade away.

"Wait! I still have questions!"

"Don't worry, Sailor V! You don't need to know anything about the future... except that it's always bright, because of you! You truly are worthy of the title - Sailor V: Guardian of Earth!" And with a bow, he disappeared completely.

A voice came from behind Sailor V. "So, a Martian from the future stealing magic from Venus, huh? Not exactly what I expected to find when I heard reports of a dragon attacking this place..."

Sailor V turned to face the stranger. "How long have you been standing there? ...And, who are you?"

"My name's Clint Barton. I'm an agent of SHIELD, an organisation dedicated to protecting the public from... external threats. I happened to be in the area when reports of a dragon came in, so I was sent to investigate. I got here just as you unleashed that disintegration beam or whatever... didn't really feel like interrupting your conversation." He shrugged. "So... I guess you're on our side, then?"

She nodded. "Although I'm originally from Venus, I truly consider Earth to be my home. If ever this world is in danger, I will come to defend it."

He pondered this for a moment. "...So, did you know that dragon... Martian from the future would be here today?"

She giggled. "No, actually. I just happened to be in the area! But... it turns out they were targeting me deliberately, so I guess wherever it showed up I would always have fought that dragon..."

"...We're really just gonna have to take that guy's word for all that time travel stuff, huh?" He shook his head in amazement. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to come with me for a bit? Give a statement to the higher-ups about all of this?"

"Actually... I think I'd rather stay away from the spotlight, for now. But you can still tell them about me, okay? Let them know that I'll be there when I'm needed."

"But... how will you know? I mean, not all threats are going to be obvious or targeting you, so..."

Sailor V looked down. "Well... There is one way..." She summoned her storage orb. It could store many useful items, not all of them for battle. She brought out a small pink and yellow device, resembling a slightly rounded smartphone. "This can connect to any communication system, phone, email, internet or whatever. You won't be able to track my location unless I allow it, but I'll always know as soon as you send me a message." She exchanged contact details with the SHIELD agent, who promised to try to avoid forcing her into any sort of interview.

"You did good, Sailor V, it was nice to meet you." Agent Barton shook her gloved hand.

"It was nice to meet you, too!" They both turned to leave, but Sailor V added with a smile: "Oh, just one more thing! Don't bother trying to find out who I am. This mask is magical!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the main story, the next chapter will be a couple of extra scenes, basically the equivalent of mid-credits and post-credits scenes.


	3. Bonus Scenes

Mid-Credits Scene:

Sailor V patrolled her neighbourhood regularly after her first appearance, stopping crimes whenever she happened across them, helping people in need, things like that. One day, she happened to rescue a small, white kitten from a tall tree. She couldn't find his owner, so she took him to the local rescue centre. Days later, Mina got home from school only to find that same white kitten waiting for her on her doorstep! He seemed to know, somehow, that she had been the one to rescue him, and he clearly demanded that she be the one to adopt him, too. So, Mina Aino acquired her pet cat, and she named him Artemis.

(She would have to be more careful when transforming in seemingly empty back alleys, in the future.)

* * *

Post-Credits Scene:

Over the years that followed, Mina of course heard about the various strange things that happened. Somehow, however, even after she had moved into her apartment in New York, Mina found herself away (most often visiting family) whenever something like the Hulk incident happened, not hearing about it until it was too late to offer her aid. And so, even though she patrolled regularly in the city, she remained relatively unknown to the general public, the crimes she stopped being generally small in scale. One day, however, her streak of missing out was finally broken. Nearly five years after she had first gained her powers, one spring day, she was seated in a cafe. She heard strange sounds coming from the street outside, and saw tall, grey monsters, wielding glowing purple weapons and attacking the city. In less than ten seconds, she had found a place where no-one could see her, and she transformed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on this idea for a while, now, and I finally decided to start posting this series today. I still have more already written for this story, but I will probably upload future entries over more than one day.
> 
> Next time: Sailor V meets the Avengers!


End file.
